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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29715600">Cathedral</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/RhineGold/pseuds/RhineGold'>RhineGold</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Final Fantasy XV</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Ardyn is Terrible, Gift Fic, M/M, NOCTIS LIKES FISH, mermaid au, pairings and ratings to change as we go</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 18:20:33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,659</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29715600</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/RhineGold/pseuds/RhineGold</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It was well know throughout Eos that Noctis Lucis Caelum loved fish.</p>
<p>When dignitaries from far-flung places visited the capital of Insomnia, they often brought lovely specimens or delicacies for the prince, hoping to cater and flatter their way into his father's good graces. Niflheim had long put off invitations to appear at the Insominian court, but when they came, it was with a vengeance.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Noctis Lucis Caelum/Ignis Scientia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>44</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Cathedral</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Enjoy this story where Ignis is a mercreature and Noctis is entranced.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
<i>Looking up from underneath</i><br/>
<i>Fractured moonlight on the sea</i><br/>
<i>Reflections still look the same to me</i><br/>
<i>As before I went under...</i></p>
</div><i>~*~</i><p>It was well know throughout Eos that Noctis Lucis Caelum loved fish.</p>
<p>When dignitaries from far-flung places visited the capital of Insomnia, they often brought lovely specimens or delicacies for the prince, hoping to cater and flatter their way into his father's good graces. Niflheim had long put off invitations to appear at the Insominian court, but when they came, it was with a vengeance.</p>
<p>Noctis and Prompto watched as the last of the MagiTek carriers entered the Barrier, looking more like an invasion than a gift. But Noctis, seventeen in three day’s time, had been told he was to receive the gift of a lifetime. He and Prompto just couldn't decide what it could be.</p>
<p>~*~</p>
<p>It was a tank. </p>
<p>A giant fish tank of some kind, surrounded by magiked clear walls, letting one look into a deep grotto, where something big would swim, down to the dark bottom of the tank, or splash somehow into the upper part of the tank, where a shallow bay of large, smooth, stones were bathed in artificial sun. </p>
<p>But what could possibly go inside?</p>
<p>Noct looked at the door, leading out into the stone bay, sealed shut with state-of-the-art security measures, including a palm print sensor and eye imaging systems. No one was getting in there without permission. Feeling stealthy and a little scared, he crept over to the sensor. Gently, he placed his palm on the sensor. The door flashed red and an alarm sounded, shrill and angry. </p>
<p>"Shit!" Noct stumbled back, nearly crashing into the man he hadn't heard come in behind him.</p>
<p>"Oh, Dear Prince..." The man purred, steadying him with one gloved hand. </p>
<p>"I was just checking out the..." His non-existent excuse died when he looked up at the man. "Who are you?"</p>
<p>The man was tall and sturdy. Compared to Noct's own slender build, he looked like a giant even though he wasn't too stocky himself. His red curls flowed out from an ancient-looking fedora and he was dressed in what would have been a dignified outfit if it didn't somehow give off the impression of grime. His face was as scruffy as the rest of his overall appearance - dark red hairs on his chin and throat. He had beautiful, somehow familiar eyes. </p>
<p>"Allow me to introduce myself," He said, grinning, showing mostly even, white, teeth. "Ardyn Izunia, Chancellor." Somewhere, the alarm stopped sounding.</p>
<p>"You're the Chancellor of Niflheim?" Noct asked, knowing how stupid he must sound. But the man looked too eclectic, too derelict, to be anyone of political importance. </p>
<p>"Your judgement is noted, Highness," He remained grinning. "Come back tomorrow and I'll have a very fine gift for you."</p>
<p>Suddenly, like a flash, his right hand shot out, coat flaring as he reached to clutch Noctis' chin. "That is...," He continued, conversationally, as though he were not holding the younger man hard by his face. He appeared to be searching for something in Noctis' expression, but seemed not to find it. "Disappointing, really. I'd expected more from a prince."</p>
<p>Noctis jerked his face away, but the movement felt more like Ardyn actually releasing him rather than him doing so under his own strength. "What kind of gift?" He asked, warily, trying to keep up without succumbing to how surreal and off this whole thing felt. Ardyn was like a black hole, disrupting his center of gravity. </p>
<p>"Something the likes of which you have never seen," He promised, almost breathless. </p>
<p>Trying not to look like he was running away, Noct nodded and sidestepped the man, almost warping in his haste to get out of this man's presence. "I look forward to it."</p>
<p>As he made his way to the door, he heard the man call after him, "Oh, Prince! ...Next time, wait until you're invited before coming to see a show." </p>
<p>The last thing Noct heard was a chirping sound as the door slid open and then shut.</p>
<p>~*~</p>
<p>Noctis stood beside his father, always aware now of how frail he had become. The cane was the newest addition, and the way his hair was failing at salt-and-pepper and was now closer to completely grey. But he was a young man, younger than he looked at least. But the magik he used took its’ toll. Noct hated it.</p>
<p>With little fanfare besides the clunk of his boots on the metal floor, Chancellor Izunia arrived.</p>
<p>“Gentlemen… 	I hope I did not keep Your Majesties waiting for long,” He simpered in a tone that was simultaneously submissive and condescending. Noct decided he hated this man.</p>
<p>“And now, your attention please,” he continued. “Your gift, Dear Prince. I do hope you enjoy. It took a long time to find and train such a creature. Just do remember that it is, in all aspects, a creature.”</p>
<p>A light came on within the tank, illuminating the lower parts of the tank, joining the artificial light on the beached area. </p>
<p>Noct stepped closer, leaning his face to the glass, wondering what could lurk in such depths. </p>
<p>Suddenly, another face met his, pressed close on the other side of the glass. Noctis cried out and jerked back, nearly losing his balance. The human face swirled away into the darkness.</p>
<p>“What the hell was that?!” He cried, embarrassed by his reaction and shocked. Green eyes had met his and it had looked so human, so curious… </p>
<p>“Scientia Ignautus,” Ardyn said, sounding proud. “We call it Ignis.”</p>
<p>“What is it?” Regis asked, reminding Noct that he was even there.</p>
<p>“There have always been legends in Niflheim of a creature, half man, half serpent. Digging deep into the sea shore for materials and we found this one, hidden in a grotto where he was easy prey for our MagiTek. Barely even put up a fight from what I heard.” </p>
<p>The creature, Ignis, Noct reminded himself, swam close to the glass again. This time, it appeared to want to get a better view of them, unwittingly presenting them with a better view of him. Of it? He thought, looking closer.</p>
<p>Ignis looked like a handsome young man from the chest up. The muscles of his chest glistened under a shimmering, pale skin. His pale brownish blond hair clung to his neck in a shoulder-length wave. And the rest of him… He appeared almost like an eel, with a serpentine tail the whipped and curled around him, a dark, almost black greenish shade. There were pale, white lines on his tail and shoulders, standing out like pale trees on a dark night. </p>
<p>Noct was entranced.</p>
<p>“It used to have longer hair when we found it,” Ardyn continued, his voice growing a harder edge. “We didn’t know they were nerve endings until it started screaming.”</p>
<p>“That’s reckless and cruel,” Regis said sharply.</p>
<p>“It used to be blind too until we introduced it <i>slowly</i> to artificial light.”</p>
<p>“How well can he see?” Noct asked, pressing one palm to the glass. He could feel the magik roiling around his fingers but it wasn’t hurting him. </p>
<p>“It appears to be hopelessly near-sighted,” the chancellor replied. </p>
<p>Suddenly, a hand, webbed between the fingers, pressed against Noct’s, mirroring his pose. Those eyes could be visible again, bright and gleaming. You’re beautiful, Noct thought, surprising himself in the process.</p>
<p>“Can he speak?” Regis asked.</p>
<p>“He understands when he’s spoken to, but he lacks the vocal cords to do more than produce sounds, we believe.”</p>
<p>“That’s too bad.”</p>
<p>“Are you well pleased, Dear Prince?” Ardyn stepped beside him as Ignis swirled away into the murky darkness.</p>
<p>“It’s… It’s great. I love it,” Noctis replied. </p>
<p>“Good.”</p>
<p>Regis cleared his throat and Ardyn took a few steps back. He doffed his hat and made his way down the hall.</p>
<p>“This feels cruel,” Noct said to his father once he had gone.</p>
<p>“He’s not really human, son. Just be gentle and kind with him. It seems no one else has been.”</p>
<p>“Yes, dad,” He replied, no sarcasm in his voice. This poor creature had been captured, imprisoned, mutilated, and given as a present. He vowed to do right by him. Just as soon as he figured out what that was…</p>
<p>~*~</p>
<p>“So you got a dude who’s half fish?” Prompto asked, taking another bite of his candy. “Sounds pretty messed up, man.” He flopped back against the concrete surrounding the fountain. “Hope someone gives me a mermaid on MY seventeenth birthday.”</p>
<p>“It’s not really that funny, man,” Noct said, hating his lecturing tone, reminded of his own father. “He’s been hurt, and he’s like… he can think and seems to react to people.” </p>
<p>“So do cats, dude. They’re still pets.”</p>
<p>“Ignis is more than that.” </p>
<p>Prompto sat up then, hands slipping from behind his head. “Dude, you sound serious.”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Noct said, surprising even himself. “I guess I am.”</p>
<p>Clapping one arm around Noct’s shoulders, Prompto used his camera to snap a quick photo of the two of them, mostly of Noct’s expression. “So when do I get to meet your boyfriend?”</p>
<p>“Prompto!”</p>
<p>~*~</p>
<p>Noctis sat in the tank chamber, one knee drawn up to his chin, watching the water. Ignis had not been visible the entire time he’d been down in the rooms. </p>
<p>He was starting to wonder if something had happened to him, but then, the ‘smack’ of a webbed hand hit the glass and he was looking up suddenly into those beautiful green eyes again. </p>
<p>Covering the palm with his own, he smiled and waved. </p>
<p>Looking confused, Ignis floated there, and then finally raised one slender arm and mirrored the wave. </p>
<p>Noct laughed and pointed at himself. “Noct,” he said deliberately. “Noct.”</p>
<p>Ignis pointed at himself but kept his mouth closed, more confusion on his face. His tail coiled around his torso, wrapping himself in a web of inky black and green. Then he pointed at Noct. He still looked puzzled, but he smiled. </p>
<p>“Close enough.” Noct decided.</p>
<p>~*~</p>
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